Caroling for the DREAM Act at the White House

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-12-14 15:40:00 UTC
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Oh Senators, Oh Senators, / Please pass the DREAM Act now! Supporters of the DREAM Act have staged a number of public stunts to call attention to their cause, including hunger strikes, sit-ins, and blocking trafficking. Now, with Christmas almost upon us, they're making use of the season to launch another tactic: caroling for their dreams.

Raising their voices together in song on December 12th, leader Gaby Pacheo and other undocumented youth and allies launched a week of action to pass the DREAM Act, which would provide immigrant youth who were brought to America when under 16 years old with a pathway to legalization through college attendance or military service. Familiar tunes such as "Oh Christmas Tree" and "Jingle Bells" were decked out for the purpose with new lyrics pressuring senators to vote yes on the upcoming vote on the House version of the DREAM Act. With the lame duck session coming to a close and Republicans taking power in the senate, these demonstrations have taken on a heightened urgency. All we want is education / Pass the DREAM Act now, hey!

Carolers started at the Lincoln Memorial, choosing the location where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, then headed down toward the White House in the rain. Meanwhile, the White House blog has been giving its backng for the DREAM Act too, in series of articles from Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and today Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

Will the Senate listen to Education Secretary Duncan? "The students of the DREAM Act are some of the country’s best and brightest. They were raised and educated in America.  They are valedictorians, star athletes, community leaders, and are active in their faith. They text and go to the mall. They are Americans in every sense of the word."

How about Napolitano on national security? "By providing a firm, but fair, means for individuals who were brought to the United States as children to adjust their status, the DREAM Act would bolster the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to focus our limited enforcement resources on detaining and removing criminal aliens and those who pose a threat to our national security and public safety. "

Will the Senate listen to the music? Oh Senators, Oh Senators, / Please pass the DREAM Act now!

Photo/Video credit: RI4AVideo

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Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.

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